Monthly Archives: October 2014

For those of you on the novel journey with me (hi Mom!), when you walk through a bookstore what are your thoughts? Holy shit, how can all of these people get published but not me? Someone actually published THIS?! There are too many people writing novels, I’ll never get in the door. Are there any stories left to write? (wait…Yes, mine!) I love books in an unhealthy way. I can’t afford to buy all of these and still pay my mortgage….

You get the point, I get crazy excited inside a bookstore. While my emotions are a mix of self-doubt, exhilaration, giddiness and a little bewilderment at times, I’m ultimately only encouraged and re-energized to keep writing. I live in a small town now and these days when I venture into the ‘big city’ I always go by a bookstore. (Maybe that’s part of the appeal, too. The fact that I’m not able to soak up the awesomeness of a bookstore very often). My timing for refueling (my creative muse)with last weekend’s bookstore visit was perfect because there are only 4 days until NaNoWriMo starts!

Will you be participating in NaNo this year? I’ve participated for the last four years. I usually start out gangbusters and make my goals right up until mid-November when Thanksgiving planning takes over my life. I actually bought a coffee mug this year so maybe that will be the key to my success:-) (I’m a sucker for a cool coffee mug)

To get you prepared, here’s an article posted today on Writer’s Digest about nanowrimo.

And one more thing that will appeal to you because of course if you write then you love to read.

While I’m a traditionalist when it comes to reading and having an actual book with pages to turn I do own a kindle. I’ve discovered the bookbub website. If you aren’t already using it then go check it out. They have daily specials on books for your digital device. The prices are deeply discounted and range from $0 to half (or more) off! You just sign up to receive an email on the daily specials in the genre’s of your choice. Very cool!

Have you seen the new Shaun T workout, Insanity Max 30? Check it out on beachbody.com.

I love me some Shaun T but I won’t be buying this one…just yet.

If you’ve ever read my blog you know that I don’t go to a gym. I’m an avid home exerciser and over the years I’ve compiled a vast library of workout videos (started back with the original Buns of Steel…oh yeah. That guy is awesome). I almost cried when collagevideo.com closed!

I’m one of those people who happily discovered the compact workout craze. My days are crazy busy and busier all the time but I. Have. To. Exercise. I can’t function properly without a workout. I was thrilled to discover the market flooded over the last few years with shorter, uber intense (and fun!) workout choices that gave me the same sense of accomplishment. I continued to workout daily mostly using videos that were 30-45 minutes long. But about a year ago I realized I’d started to gain weight (insert blob music).

About 10 months ago I decided for the first time in my life I was going to actually diet. I downloaded fitness pal, bought a heart rate monitor and changed up my workouts to at least an hour. I broke up with Shaun T, Tony Horton and Chalean (I should have stock in beachbody) and started going steady with Cathe Friedrich. Cathe is an intense mix of the other three but her workouts tend to be longer (although she does have shorter ones as well).

It took a while but I lost 15 lbs. If you have a heart rate monitor you’ll quickly realize that no matter how intense you workout for 25 or 30 minutes, you can’t burn as many calories as you do in an hour. Now, I’m not talking to people that went from NEVER excercising to doing a 30 minute workout and lost a ton of weight (duh, of course you did! Bravo, btw). I’ve worked out obsessively for a looooonnnnggg time (decades, people) and I realized that 30 minutes may not be long enough (for me).

So, my current workout routine is a minimum of 55 minutes (with an emphasis most days on cardio to get the calorie burn I’m looking for). Because of my new norm I’d have to do more than one of Shaun T’s workouts at a time and I don’t know about you but once I hear the cool down/stretch music I find it very hard to talk myself into another workout.

I don’t doubt the pendulum will eventually swing back to some shorter workouts mixed in during the week (welcome back Shaun T) but I’m not there yet.

What could be worse that falling on your ass in front of millions of people? How about falling on your ass while naked and then landing on a jagged rock in front of millions of people? Hello! Thank you Naked and Afraid. Aren’t the people on that show scared to death? I realize that my fears (of rejection from agents, publishers, family members) as an unpublished author seem small when compared to the millions of unfortunate things that can (and do) happen to people on that show. Why, people? Why?

Humiliation sucks. Rejections are humiliating. And let’s face it. Life is like high school sometimes, whether we admit it or not we all want to be liked and accepted. Does that mean we’ll get what we want? Of course not! Not everyone will love you OR your novel. And that’s OK!

Did your dad let you skip school for PMS more than 3 times a month? Maybe. But you still had to show up every now and then and you did (finally) graduate and it was worth all the shitty years you had to do it because you earned it!

Keep writing. Your finished stories are something to be proud of. After all, the things we have to work the hardest for are the things which we are ultimately most proud of ourselves for accomplishing. Don’t let the fear of rejection/humiliation (falling) inhibit your dream.

You may fall on your ass and possibly hit a jagged rock but you won’t be naked with millions of people watching…wait, that didn’t come out right. You know what I’m saying. Rejection is part of the process. It’s not the end of the world. It could always be worse. Blah blah blah.

My point: don’t walk around naked near jagged surfaces in front of cameras. Duh! Don’t write in the nude and don’t let your fears keep you from your passions.